University of Cincinnati
Graduate House
TYPE: ACADEMIC; PROGRAMMING & ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
LOCATION: CINCINNATI, OHIO
PARTNER: DREW SUSZKO
DATE: 2013
In this self-guided studio which focused on how design influences
peoples’ behaviors, my teammate and I explored graduate housing
on University of Cincinnati’s campus. Stemming from the University’s
desire to distinguish itself as a research-oriented powerhouse
through its graduate and doctoral programs, this proposal centered
on a Graduate House for UC that would transform campus life and
cultivate greater social interaction between residents, students and the
community.
Inspired by the residential college model, elements of monastic living,
and contemporary positions on integrating academic and off-campus
living, this proposal aimed at balancing spaces for academic life and
social life, private space versus public space.

PRIVATE SPACES
Each student is provided with a
small amount of private space,
where amenities are shared with
adjacent units.
Connecting each room, the
traditional corridor is expanded
to accommodate a number of
loosely programmed spaces,
intended to foster interaction.
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SOCIALIZING

EATING

RESEARCHING
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SHARED SPACES
Each of these programmed
areas accommodate a variety
of functions; at their most basic
are eating, researching and
socializing. The conglomeration
of these spaces make up the
Graduate Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shared space
system meant specifically for the
Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residents.
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LOWER LEVEL READING ROOM
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STORAGE
(BIKE)

INTRAMURAL

COMMUNITY
CENTER

FITNESS

CLASSROOMS

PUBLIC
PRESENTATION

MEDIA
LIBRARY

CONFERENCE

GARDEN /
COURT

DINER

COMMON

LIVE

PUBLIC

PLAY

SERVICE

FOOD GARDEN

REC ROOM

SPA

MEDITATION
SPACE

WORK

VENDING

CATERING
KITCHEN

DINING
HALL

BREAKOUT
SPACE

BAR

MAIL (C)

MAIL (L)

REC READING

ART STUDIO

STUDIO
SPACE

LABORATORY

KITCHEN
(L)

STORAGE
(BIKE)

FITNESS

MEDITATION
SPACE

COMMUNITY
CENTER

CLASSROOMS

PUBLIC
PRESENTATION

MEDIA
LIBRARY

CONFERENCE

GARDEN /
COURT

DINER

CATERING
KITCHEN

DEAN
RES

MAIL (L)

ART STUDIO

ASSEMBLY

GALLERY

LABORATORY

STUDIO
SPACE

TUTOR
SUITES

WASTE (C)
DEAN’S
RES

STUDY
ROOM

DOUBLE
BRs

WASTE (L)

MASTER’S
RES

STORAGE
(OTHER)

FAMILY
SUITES
CUSTODIAL
(L)

LAUNDRY

CUSTODIAL
(C)

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L

SINGLE
BRs

COMMON
LOUNGE

KITCHEN
(L)

REFLECTIVE READ

PARKING

DOUBLE
BRs

MASTER’S
RES

CUSTODIAL
(L)

MAIL (C)

REC READING

BIZ INCUBATOR

PARKING

GREEN
HOUSE

VENDING

DINING
HALL

BREAKOUT
SPACE

BAR

FOOD GARDEN

REC ROOM

SPA

TUTOR
SUITES

STUDY
ROOM
REFLECTIVE READ

INTRAMURAL

S

COMMON
LOUNGE

ASSEMBLY

GALLERY

BIZ INCUBATOR

BATHROOMS (W)

BATHROOMS (L)

CUSTODIAL
(C)

PROGRAMMING
Programming was a significant
component to this project.
Critical programs were identified
and ranked from most important
to least important with respect to
their ability to foster interaction
at multiple levels: residents,
UC students, and the adjacent
community.

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GREEN
HOUSE

)

03

SINGLE
BRs
WASTE (C)

Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S
S

02

WASTE (L)

STORAGE
(OTHER)

FAMILY
SUITES

LAUNDRY

BATHROOMS (W)

BATHROOMS (L)

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SITE PLAN
The House was divided into
two buildings, forming a central
pedestrian mall and connecting
the busy retail street to the south
to the bustling heart of campus.
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GEOGRAPHICAL
FEATURES
W CALHOUN
ST

W MCMILLAN ST

CIRCULATION
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PROMINENT VIEWS, AXES, AND GREENS

GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES

SITE SELECTION
The site was selected to act as
a strategic gateway or southern
portal into the campus. This
edge of campus has very few
prominent connections between
the newly revitalized retail district along Calhoun and McMillan Streets and UCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own Main
Street.

ACCESSIBILITY
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Residence Hall
Renovation
TYPE: PROFESSIONAL; ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN & RENOVATION
LOCATION: CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
DATE: 2012
Tasked with updating a number of the university’s historic
residence halls, the firm was challenged with preserving
the facades of these significant structures while enhancing
the lifestyle of the university’s well-known undergraduate
residential colleges. The process sought to understand the
implications of future renovations based on a few key factors:
access, structure, program, main entry and circulation.
Each of these variables were singled-out, analyzed and reassembled to develop a series of comprehensive options for
the client’s review.
ROLE: My initial role was to manage the digital model of the
existing structure – originally outsourced and constructed
based upon its 1930s drawings.
Towards the design, I was charged with developing initial
strategies and concepts for accommodating the common
space program, access and circulation of the first floor and
lower levels of the residence hall, eventually fusing these with
the residential floors above.

CONTEXT AND CIRCULATION
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EXISTING TUTOR COMMUNITY
ORGANIZATION AND CIRCULATION

PROPOSED HYBRID ORGANIZATION
AND CIRCULATION

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STRUCTURAL BEAM LOCATIONS

EXPLORATION IN INTERNAL
ACCESSIBILITY

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ITERATIVE EVOLUTION OF GROUND FLOOR PLAN
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ENTRANCE STUDIES
Early concepts concentrated
on the building’s access and
circulation on the first floor. As
the building had many level
changes, including a 30” plinth
which the majority of the first
floor rested upon, different
strategies
were
explored
to provide accessible and
meaningful approaches to the
building’s interior.
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Designing for Reuse: Mixed-Use
Structure
TYPE: ACADEMIC; ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
LOCATION: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
DATE: 2014
Identifying issues in the limited lifespan of buildings due to economically engineered tactics
of planned obsolescence, this thesis proposal approaches design and construction from a
different vantage point. Rather than designing buildings that are constructed and demolished
completely, what if certain building elements were designed to remain? What components
would be left behind as usable infrastructure? What would the building look like? How would
it be used?
In essence, it means a building meant to be adaptively reused, a building designed for change.
This proposal explores what it would mean for a building to be a continual construction
site, where certain common elements remain and new or specialized elements become
interchangeable - a contemporary ruin, of sorts - viewing the shared permanent portion of
the building more as a system of infrastructure than as a traditionally programmed structure.
The building proposal is comprised of two parts: the permanent and the ephemeral. This
proposal explores how the permanent can accommodate the many different uses of the
ephemeral via configuration of structure, chase and corridor space.

SITE
Located in the southern part of
Olde Kensington, Philadelphia,
the site is situated between a
recently gentrified neighborhood
to the south and a former
industrial corridor to the north.
The site is chosen strategically to
capitalize on these two areas in
great flux as an ideal environment
to suggest an adaptable building
proposal.
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STRATEGIES
The permanent system is meant
to be a conduit to allow multiple
units to plug in to it, essentially a
series of corridors vertically and
horizontally oriented. The system
is designed in such a way that
each tenant can construct their
own unit during any time in the life
of the building without disturbing
the general functions of the units
around them.
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TEMPORARY AND
THE PERMANENT

VERTICAL CHASE
CONFIGURATION

DUAL STRUCTURAL
SYSTEM

TOTAL BUILD-OUT
CONFIGURATION
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PROGRAM
One of the primary roadblocks
for constructing a building intent
upon change is that change
is not predictably foreseeable.
This
proposal
intends
to
accommodate
programming
that is by its very nature
temporary.

TWO SYSTEMS
This project proposes two
structural systems. The first
system, at the core, facilitates
the buildings main arteries,
conveying people and services
laterally and vertically â&#x20AC;&#x201C; creating
a core and anchor to which
units will be fixated. In these
corridors is a 3â&#x20AC;&#x2122; utility strip that
provides access to the plenum
space below each floor for
maintenance and hook-ups for
new construction
The second is a lighter
external structure meant to be
a permanent scaffolding for
temporary units. Supported by
thin/light columns and bracing,
the units can be constructed onsite with available space on all
sides for workers to access.
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Cincinnati School of
Environmental Learning
TYPE: ACADEMIC; SITE PLANNING & ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
LOCATION: CINCINNATI, OHIO
DATE: 2011
This graduate design studio focused on developing a school of
environmental learning in an urban neighborhood near a thriving retail
street and an iconic neighborhood church. While responding to its
context, the core idea of this proposal was to expose the site to an
environmental process - the water cycle - and design the building and
its landscape around it. By designing a setting that would tell the story
of rainfall, collection, filtration, storage and reuse as educational tools
allowed experimentation with developing inside/outside relationships
with the building spatially and structurally.
External the site, the school is scaled in harmony of its urban context with
a focal entry point on its north side, oriented towards the neighborhood
landmark of the church and acting as a backdrop for a new public
plaza. Internally, a series of hallways follow the flow landscape terraces
culminating in indoor/outdoor laboratory adjacent a water body used
for the study of plant and aquatic life.

Fabric Forms and the Module
TYPE: ACADEMIC; MATERIAL STUDIES
TEAM: FREDERIK BERTE, JORDAN LEWIS, & ANDREW NEWMAN
DATE: 2012
FABRIC CASTING
Fabric casting was the common interest in the group as a means of exploring
fluid form from a material that, when cured, would be solid and massive.
Of particular interest was the tendency of fabric formed concrete to be
unrecognizable as a material. The textural imprint of fabric onto the surface of
the concrete was also of interest as it was another means of transforming the
concrete from a known material to an unknown material.
THE MODULE
The team was encouraged to consider integrating the idea of the fabric
pours with that of the module; one, for the sake of greater applicability of the
proposal as a construction element, and second, as a means of exploring
deeper functional solutions to using concrete and the connection between
materials in ways not previously explored. As the investigation progressed, it
was recognized that there were even greater benefits of the module related
to texture. The modular elements, when assembled created another level
of texture at the macro level that contributed to the idea of rendering the
materiality of the concrete obsolete.

FORMWORK
In considering the formwork and
the module it was paramount that
the material that made up the
formwork was resilient enough
for repeated use - a strategy
derived from an interest to save
material and time while ensuring
consistent modules with each
pour. We decided on quarter
inch thick polycarbonate as the
material would not degrade with
each pour.
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FORM & MATERIAL
It was decided that the
interlocking concrete elements
would not be structurally
possible as the concrete would
be brittle at these connections.
Instead, interlocking would be
in the form of tabbed inserts that
would be integrated within each
poured module, evident in the
polycarbonate formwork. The
bottom three layers in each pour
would accommodate a tabbed
polycarbonate layer to facilitate
this connection. Finally, it was
also considered to switch to a
hexagonal module which would
provide greater opportunities for
interlocking without being too
complicated.
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The Baths at Cranbrook
TYPE: ACADEMIC; SITE PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN
LOCATION: BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICHIGAN
DATE: 2012
As a two quarter course, this graduate design studio focused on
comprehensive design from conceptual site strategies down to
detail design. The following work embodies the culmination of
the first quarter which focused on site strategies and conceptual
design of this proposed spa on the Cranbrook school campus
just north of Detroit Michigan.
This design focused on converting an under-utilized site facing
a prominent green space on the Cranbrook campus. Space
between an existing structure and this prominent green space
is limited so various studies focused on narrow building
configurations while designing for ample natural sunlight

SITE STRATEGIES
The proposed site was selected
as part of an infill strategy
transforming the a long strip of
green called the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grand Alleeâ&#x20AC;?
into a green heart of the campus.
As the proposed site resided
on the north side of an existing
building, access to natural
daylight became a large focus of
this design.
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DAYLIGHT ACCESS
Access to daylight became a
prominent driver in the design.
As such, a light scoop became
the primary architectural feature,
garnering
some
influence
from the campuses historic
architecture, while providing
interior spaces with washes of
daylight.
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FIRST FLOOR SITE PLAN

NORTH ELEVATION
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FRAMING

SHEAR WALL

DIAPHRAGM

COMPOSITE
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LAYERS
As the design evolved, the
buildingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interior spaces were
formed through a series of layers.
Some of these layers acted as
light scoops, providing different
types of light for different types
of spaces.

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Gerald D. Hines Student Urban
Design Competition
TYPE: ACADEMIC; URBAN DESIGN
LOCATION: NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
DATE: 2014
TEAM: DREW SUSZKO, GRETCHEN KEILLOR, KEN KO, AARON GUTTMAN
This year’s competition site, located in Tennessee’s state capital, Nashville, was situated in an
underdeveloped yet historically significant district north of the downtown. Prone to flooding,
the project site spanned an area between the city’s civic mall and the river, a neighborhood
comprised of an eclectic mix of former industrial buildings, parking lots, state offices and older
condominiums. Charged with proposing an economically viable urban development plan for
the site, each team was required to integrate a newly proposed minor league baseball stadium
and supporting mixed use development into the competition proposals.
ROLE: Urban Designer; The team was divided into three groups: Finance, Marketing and Design.
I oversaw the design group, focusing on implementing the program, open space and circulation
as determined by the team’s vision for the site while contributing to the competition graphics.

CAPITAL CITY BLUES
Our teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision for the site
dealt with the transiencies
typically plaguing capital cities.
The siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competing narratives
were viewed as distinct systems
seeking unification.
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COMMUNITY HEART
Our teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposal transformed
the impending ballpark into
the community heart, imbuing
it with a framework capable of
addressing a variety of different
neighborhood and city-wide
functions. This heart was part
of a larger promenade (formerly
a bikeway) that formed a
centralized pedestrian linkage
from significant public museums
along the mall to the newly
redeveloped waterfront.
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10

4 5

10

10

5 5 4 10

7

10 4 5 5

Meandering
Bikeway

36’
48’

5 5

12

8

20
Shared

8

12

60’

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89

4 7

8

8

7 4 10

6

10 4 7

8

8

80’

8

8

8 4 4 10.5 10.5 6 10.5 10.5 4 4 8

80’

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Kunming Xishan Urban Park
TYPE: PROFESSIONAL; PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN
LOCATION: KUNMING, YUNNAN, CHINA
DATE: 2009
Kunming, known as the Spring City - because of the city’s yearround agreeable weather, is renowned for its flower festivals. Nestled
between two of Kunming’s most treasured landscapes, West Mountain
and Dian Lake, this proposal delivered an urban park anchored by
a central flower expo and growing fields - a collection of what would
be some of the city’s largest attractions. The team was charged with
accommodating a myriad of programs such as a Botanic Garden, Art
Exhibition and studio spaces, Resorts and spas, and Flower Expo
center and surrounding flower fields. Orienting these programs along
a small sliver of developable land between the mountain and the lake,
the proposal sought to accommodate a large amount of program that
had the best of both worlds, access to the mountain to the west and
views to the lake in the east.
ROLE: Urban Designer; Managed design vision and implementation
from the initial kick-off meeting to the final report. This meant mediating
information between economic and environmental reports; balancing
ideal programmatic mixes and development strategies with ecological
and historic preservation as well as recommended water infiltration
infrastructure - tied to a cohesive structure of open space, circulation
and developable areas that were part of a larger narrative for the city
and region.

PRESERVATION AND PLANNING
The large amount of program
proposed for the park actually
provided many opportunities for
preservation and ecologically
sensitive design and planning.
Existing roads, buildings and
farm fields were planned for
reuse rather than demolition to
not only minimize costs, but also
helped preserve some of the
important history of the site.
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tM
Wes
a
ount
in
Dian Lake

Context
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FLOWER FIELDS
Transitioning
the
existing
farm fields into flower fields
for Kunmingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual flower
festival also led to an immediate
rural aesthetic.
This rural
aesthetic influenced a large
part of the planning of the parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
infrastructure: the reuse of the
existing village as well as the
preservation of many of the
vernacular roads and pathways.
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Planning Structure: North-South Spine

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Landscape Zones

Circulation

Land Use

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Resort Villas

99

Research Forest

Botanic Gardens

Forest Park

Arts Village

Business Retreat

Flower Fields

Cultural Village

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VIEW OF ARTISTS PLAZA

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ARTIST VILLAGE
The parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s centerpiece is the
Artist Village, an existing farming
village planned for relocation
and demolition. We convinced
the client to preserve its inherent
structure,
revitalize
choice
building stock, re-inhabit and
re-fill as a local artists village,
accommodating
live-work
studios, food streets, theatres
and boutique hotels.
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VIEW TOWARDS BOTANICAL GARDENS

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The Monumental Core
Framework Plan
TYPE: PROFESSIONAL; PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN
LOCATION: WASHINGTON DC
DATE: 2007
In 2003, Congress declared the national mall as a “substantially
completed work of civic art”, closing it off to future museum and
monument installations. Future museums and monuments would
need to be located elsewhere, ideally integrated into the surrounding
urban fabric. As a response, the Framework Plan proposes a series of
near, mid and long term strategies for strengthening the connections
between the National Mall and the immediate urban context. Through
a comprehensive evaluation of the city’s historic plans, current public
space framework and future growth, the Plan implements a surgical
strategy to identifying areas for future museums and monuments that
would catalyze future growth while preserving historic connections;
increasing livability downtown.
ROLE: Urban Designer; Responsible for developing initial urban
structural concepts, phasing implementation and graphic depiction.

Planning Influences
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Monumental Framework Plan

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Yundonghai Landscape
Masterplan
TYPE: PROFESSIONAL; PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN
LOCATION: SANSHUI, GUANGDONG, CHINA
DATE: 2008
Referred to as a D.E.E.P. Project - collaboration between Design,
Environmental, Economic and Planning teams - the task was to
enhance an existing masterplan based upon implementing more
intelligent economic, environmental, and planning principles to refine
and establish a new CBD, entertainment and government districts and
a variety of new housing villages. The planning sought to develop an
interconnected green waterfront edge about a newly constructed water
body as a means of linking/unifying each of the lakefront nodes through
a variety of infrastructures and activities.
ROLE: Urban Designer; Managed revisions to the existing planning
framework: developing districts, programming, character, landscape
zones, open space framework, circulation and water systems.
Developed design guidelines for lakefront promenade.

STUDY AREA

DESIGN AREA

SANSHUI

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FOSHAN

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Proposed Land Use Plan

Existing Land Use Plan

Development Suitability

Economic Development Model
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Accessibility

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Circulation - Typology

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ACCESSIBILITY / GATEWAYS

PUBLIC TRANSIT

BICYCLE & PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION
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Sindh Education City
TYPE: PROFESSIONAL; PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN
LOCATION: KARACHI, PAKISTAN
DATE: 2011
This massive university city of over 3600 ha will be the first of its kind
in Pakistan, housing over a dozen of the country’s top universities. This
design proposed a central ‘address road’ by which each university would
be oriented. By concentrating activities and circulation along this central
corridor, opportunities were created in developing urban nodes and
centers for student life. The primary urban node of this project came in
the form of a central urban Spine created by the overlapping of two Main
Streets.
ROLE: Urban Designer; Focused on articulating the land use plans into
clearer urban fabric through hand rendered drawings applied to a 3D
model. Borrowing from principles of Muslim city design, the spatial
and circulation hierarchies focused on developing a mixture of private
developments for student housing amidst a larger framework of public
amenities such as a souk and Mosque.